A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to techniques, specifically apparatus and accompanying methods, of conducting financial transactions, and particularly to commercial systems for transferring money and executing related monetary functions between multiple remotely located parties.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Financial firms have used a variety of processes for transferring money between a customer and a beneficiary. In a typical money transfer process, a customer would visit the facilities of a selling agent who is part of or associated with a financial firm. The customer would normally be asked to complete a form giving information such as the amount to be transferred, and the customer's and beneficiary's names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc. A customer would then submit a completed form to the transfer agent along with a payment, usually in cash, or via a credit card, certified check, or the like. The payment would usually include at least the transfer amount plus a transaction fee. The selling agent would then transmit appropriate information to the facilities of a paying agent where the beneficiary can readily collect the transferred funds.
Those concerned with the development of such processes have long recognized the need for reducing the time and effort required to execute a money transfer, while still maintaining a sufficiently high degree of security from threats, such as fraud, theft, third-party interception with redirection and interference of payment information.
In many prior-art systems, selling agents perform some steps with due speed and security. For instance, once a customer's transaction details and funds are processed, most selling agents can promptly initiate the transaction by electronically transmitting instructions to an appropriate agency. Such transmissions normally occur over e.g., a telephone network. Typically, the customer or agency would inform the beneficiary, e.g., via a telephone, that the funds are available for delivery at a paying agent's facility. The beneficiary, who, in fact, may have been waiting at a paying agent's facility for the transfer, would present proper identification, e.g., a driver's license, passport, etc., to the paying agent. After reviewing the beneficiary's identification, the paying agent would then make the payment.
Although most prior-art processes can execute a money transfer within a reasonably short time, these processes still require considerable time and effort on the part of the customer and the agents. For instance, most money-transfer processes require that, for every requested transaction, a customer complete long, involved forms that demand considerable time and effort to complete properly. In addition, selling agents must review the customer's forms in detail and then manually input the customer's data for transmission to an appropriate agency.
Hence, a need exists in the art for a money transfer system that is significantly easier and quicker to use by both transferring parties and beneficiaries.